I feel like I need to comment on the Daily Show’s sketch RoboChrist, since it intersects with a number of topics that interest me: the intersection of religion and science fiction on the one hand, and religious freedom on the other.

But let’s be honest at the outset. It’s not particularly funny. It would probably have worked better if they had brought Donald Trump’s proposed Space Force into the picture and made some sort of parody at the imagined intersection between that and so-called “religious freedom” measures.

Idea - RoboChrist - Right - Lot - Lot

And for those interested in exploring the idea of “RoboChrist” in its own right, there is a lot there to be explored that is a lot more interesting than what is in the sketch. See my 2014 blog post “RoboChrist” (borrowed from the title of a blog post elsewhere that prompted my own post) for some of what’s out there.

But I suppose what I should say about the matter is this. On the one hand, the fact that such a parody can be freely made and circulated illustrates that religious freedom – including the freedom to critique and criticize the religious views of others – is safe and sound in the United States. And on the other hand, this kind of cheap swipe at religious conservatives is...